ANDERSON, Ind. — James Kirby II drove a patience race for the first two thirds of the Heartland Racing Association 150-lap event and took over the point with 49 laps remaining.
Kirby sent fast time during qualifying Saturday at Anderson Speedway starting seventh after the invert.
Kirby has not visited the Hoosier Lottery Victory Lane this year in the Vore’s Welding and Steel Street Stocks Division.
This was the final tune-up before the Street Stocks take part in the Redbud 400 on July 25 with a 200-lap event.
Dalton Conner, who won both 150-lap races at Anderson Speedway a year ago started on the pole and took the lead at the start over Andrew Teepe and Ayden Oliver.
It was slow going in the first 25 laps of the event with the caution flag slowing the pace three times.
By lap 50 Kirby moved into the third spot behind Kirby and Teepe with Josh Ebbert and Oliver rounding out the top five.
Kirby moved into the second spot with an inside pass of Teepe and stayed glued to Conner’s rear bumper until the halfway break.
The race was slowed only once more on lap 80 when Thomas Skiles and Rickie Tharp II made contact in turn three.
Kirby took the lead on lap 101 with an outside pass of Conner on the front straight and pulled away to win by 3.4-seconds with Oliver, Joe Muldoon and Teepe rounding out the top five.
Muldoon started 12th in the field and an impressive run was turned in by Landen Jones who started 20th and finished eighth.
“I was saving my tires for the first half,” Kirby said in Victory Lane. “I was biding my time and waited until the second half to make my move.
“We’ve had a lot of bad luck this year,” he added.
Conner said he lost the brakes following the halfway break.
“I can’t wait for the 200,” Conner said following the second place run.
Oliver was making just his fourth start in a Street Stock and had not run more than 40 laps in a race.
“This is my first time to race here,” he said of Anderson Speedway. “This is the hardest competition I faced. Finishing in a top three in incredible.”
It was a bad night for point leader Duane Damon who finished 15th in the 21-car field and Stiles who entered the night second in points and was credited with a 19th place showing.
The finish:
1) James Kirby III; 2) Dalton Conner; 3) Ayden Oliver; 4) Joe Muldoon; 5) Andrew Teepe; 6) Rickie Tharp II; 7) Josh Ebbert Jr.; 8) Landen Jones; 9) Jacob McElfresh; 10) Larry Roberts; 11) Brett Hudson; 12) Casey Victery; 13) Josh Way; 14) Ricky Craig; 15) Duane Damon; 16) Matt Barnes; 17) Rich Segvich; 18) Joe Pulley; 19) Thomas Skiles; 20) Tyler Nicely; 21) Blake Lawson
